Seeing a shrink can be fun.
And if you have coverage from Magellan, then
use the coverage.
After all, that's what you're paying for, isn't it?
I'm not sure how Magellan works. I'm not sure if they're an insurer or a provider of services to insurers. But from what I see, their primary selling point is cost-containment.
And if
everyone that uses Magellan got therapy, well... it's hard to contain costs when thousands of people decide they "need help."
Be sure to get a referral to a "gay-friendly" therapist, even if you are not gay. And be sure that the "gay-friendly" therapist isn't a "repairative therapy" anti-gay quack.
You may be covered for all different kinds of therapy. Individual counseling. Marriage counseling. And they can be done concurrently.
Does anyone know if this might work?
See:
The Fundamentals: Care Management & Claims
When a member calls us, they speak with a compassionate, professional care manager. These licensed mental health clinicians are responsible for the assessment and referral process and all treatment authorizations. By providing easy access to care, matching patients with the most appropriate providers, and coordinating and facilitating the transition from one level of care to the next, our care managers help deliver more positive outcomes.
Once care is delivered, Magellan continues to provide service on the back-end through claims payment. We regularly meet or exceed standards for claims timeliness and accuracy. In January 2005, we paid 98.88 percent of clean claims within 30 days - while achieving financial and statistical accuracy of claims finalized at close to 100 percent (98.9 percent and 98.7 percent respectively).
Medical Economics
A unique way in which Magellan is approaching behavioral care management is through the analysis and identification of actionable information to effectively manage care and improve quality outcomes. Magellan's Medical Economics Unit uses predictive modeling to calculate early on who will be heavy service users.
The use of medical economics means a more expedient return of the member to an increased level of productivity, more appropriate consumption of benefits, and an overall increase of behavioral health care ROI.
More:
http://www.magellanhealth.com/products/mbh/?leftmenu=1&sub=none